Early life Moshe Chaim Luzzatto was born in 1707 in the
Jewish ghetto of
Padua,
Republic of Venice. The son of Jacob Vita and Diamente Luzzatto, he received classical Jewish and Italian education, showing a predilection for literature at a very early age. He may have attended the
University of Padua and was certainly associated with a group of students there who dabbled in
Jewish mysticism and
alchemy. With his vast knowledge in religious lore, the arts, and science, he quickly became the dominant figure in that group. His writings demonstrate mastery of the
Tanakh, the
Talmud, the rabbinical commentaries and codes of Jewish law and
Kabbalah.
Poetry and literature At an early age, he began a thorough study of the Hebrew language and of poetic composition. He wrote
epithalamia and
elegies, a noteworthy example of the latter being the dirge on the death of his teacher Cantarini, a lofty poem of twenty-four verses written in classical Hebrew. Before age 20, he had begun his composition of 150 hymns modeled on the biblical Psalter. In these psalms, composed in conformity with the laws of parallelism, he freed himself from all foreign influences, imitating the style of the Bible so faithfully that his poems seem entirely a renaissance of biblical words and thoughts. They provoked criticism from rabbis, however, and were among the causes of the persecutions to which Luzzatto was later subjected. R. Jacob Poppers of Frankfurt-on-the-Main thought it an unpardonable presumption to attempt to equal the "anointed of the God of Jacob". Only two psalms are known, of which it can with certainty be said that they belonged to Luzzatto's psalter; in addition, seven hymns by him which were sung at the inauguration of the enlarged
Padua Synagogue appeared in the work
Ḥanukkat ha-Maron (Venice, 1729); but it is not certain whether they were taken from the psalter.
Controversy The turning point in Luzzatto's life came at the age of twenty, when he claimed to have received direct instruction from an angel (known as a
maggid). While stories of such encounters with celestial entities were not unknown in kabbalistic circles, it was unheard of for someone of such a young age. His peers were enthralled by his written accounts of these "Divine lessons", but the leading Italian rabbinical authorities were highly suspicious and threatened to excommunicate him. Just decades earlier another young mystic,
Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676), had rocked the Jewish world by claiming to be the
Messiah. Although at one point, Zevi had convinced many European and Middle Eastern rabbis of his claim, the episode ended with him recanting and converting to
Islam. The global Jewish community was still reeling from that, and the similarities between Luzzatto's writings and Zevi's were perceived as being particularly dangerous and heretical. In some of his revelations, Luzzato even described
Moses,
Abraham and
Elijah introducing themselves to him and calling him "my mentor"; this infuriated many rabbis, especially
Moshe Hagiz, who considered his writings heretical and ordered the burning of all his writings. Other rumors were spread that Luzzato had authored a new book of Psalms that was meant to supplant the
Psalms in the
Messianic Age, a claim which Luzzato and his mentor Yeshayahu Basan vigorously denied. These writings, only some of which have survived, are often misunderstood as describing a belief that Luzzatto and his followers were key figures in a messianic drama about to take place. In this contentious interpretation, he identified one of his followers as the
Messiah ben David and assumed the role of Moses for himself, claiming to be that biblical figure's reincarnation.
Departure from Italy After threats of
excommunication and many arguments, Luzzatto finally came to an understanding with the leading Italian rabbis, including his decision not to write the
maggid lessons or teach mysticism and hand over all his writings to his mentor Yeshayahu Basan. In 1735, Luzzatto left Italy for
Amsterdam, believing that in the more liberal environment there he could pursue his mystical interests. Passing through Germany, he appealed to the local rabbinical authorities to protect him from the threats of the Italian rabbis. They refused and forced him to sign a document stating that all the teachings of the
maggid were false. But the controversy was not entirely over yet. Rumors were spread that Luzzato's mentor
Yeshayahu Basan sympathized with his pupil and even sent him back some of his writings to publish. This caused a major uproar and many heated letters passed between
Moshe Hagiz and
Yaakov Poppers and Basan threatening to undermine the latter's authority if he did not hand over the box with Luzzato's writings to the rabbis of Venice. In one letter, Moshe Hagiz, Luzzato's staunchest opponent, calls Luzzato a wretched renegade who betrayed his religion and lost his portion in the
world to come, calling and urging for the burning of all his writings. Basan was forced to hand over Luzzato's writings to Poppers, who subsequently buried deep in the ground and burnt some of the writings he deemed heretical.
Amsterdam When Luzzatto finally reached Amsterdam, he was able to pursue his
Kabbalah studies relatively unhindered. Earning a living as a diamond cutter, he continued writing but refused to teach. It was in this period that he wrote his
masterpiece, the
Mesillat Yesharim (1740), essentially an ethical treatise but with certain mystical underpinnings. The book presents a step-by-step process by which every person can overcome the inclination to sin and might eventually experience a divine inspiration similar to prophecy. Another prominent work,
Derekh Hashem 'The Way of God' is a concise work on the core theology of Judaism. The same concepts are discussed in brief in a smaller book, the
Maʾamar Haʾiqqarim maʾamar ḥokhma (). ''
Da'at Tevunot'' 'The Knowing Heart' also existed in Amsterdam as the missing link between rationality and Kabbalah, a dialogue between the intellect and the soul. On the other hand,
Derech Tevunot ("The Way of Understanding") introduces the logic which structures Talmudic debates as a means to understanding the world. One major contemporary rabbi who praised Luzzatto's writing was the
Vilna Gaon (1720–1797), widely regarded as the most authoritative
Torah sage of the modern era and a great kabbalist himself. He was reputed to have said after reading the
Mesillat Yesharim, that were Luzzatto still alive, he would have walked from Vilna to learn at Luzzatto's feet. He stated that having read the work, the first ten chapters contained not a superfluous word. Luzzatto also wrote poetry and drama. Although most of it is seemingly secular, some scholars claim to have identified mystical undertones in this body of work as well. His writing is strongly influenced by the Jewish poets of
al-Andalus and by contemporary Italian authors. The cantor of the Sephardic synagogue in Amsterdam,
Abraham Caceres, worked with Luzzatto to set several of his poems to music.
Acre, Israel Frustrated by his inability to teach
Kabbalah, Luzzatto left
Amsterdam for the
Holy Land in 1743, settling in
Acre. Three years later, he and his family died in a plague. ==Legacy==